From my Mother In Law

 The 3's of Me

You've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with the 3's of YOU. At the end choose some people to be tagged. Be sure to tag me. If I tagged you, its because I am interested in learning more about YOU.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 3's of Me, tag 20 people - in the right hand corner of the app then click publish. Or just copy this, paste it, and replace my answers with yours.

Three names I go by:
1. Mom
2.Jeanne
3.Hitler

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Tax Auditor
2. Bookkeeper
3. Security Guard

Three places I have lived:
1. Milwaukee, WI
2. Sturgis, MI
3. Greenfield, WI

Three Favorite Drinks
1. Squirt
2. Coffee
3. Ice Tea

Three TV shows I watch:
1.News
2. Mike and Juiliet
3. So you think you can dance

Three places I have been:
1. Salt Lake city, ut
2.Dallas, TX
3. Kansas city Ks

Three People that text me regularly:
1. Danny
2.Lisa
3.??

Three things I want to do:
1. Roller skate at age 70
2. Give money away
3. Be happy and healthy with my family.

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Cheese
2. Pizza
3. Potato Chips

Three friends I think will respond:
1. Elaine
2. Lisa
3. No one

Our Trip to UWM - pt 3

The university brags that the planetarium shows often sell out, and they encourage you to arrive at least a half hour in advance. Well, after failing to find food we headed over to the science building and waited. And waited. Finally someone showed up to sell tickets, 20 minutes before the show, and we were first in line. But with so much time left I bought the kids some snacks from a vending machine and we headed outside.







Now I don't remember that statue from my years on campus, but of course I could be mistaken. But if I'm right, it's in a sorry state, with chips missing and some of the concrete showing significant wear. Which, as I write this, probably invalidates my memory, no?

Anyhow, the kids held it together.





And YaYa even designed some smiley faces out of stones. Hey, it was a LONG WAIT.



Soon enough it was time for the show.



The professor in charge asked me how I'd learned of the show, and I told her my father had brought me when I was a kid. (I remember listening to Eddie Murphy's Party all the Time and Starship's We Built this City on the way to campus.)

The show itself was nothing to brag about. It was mainly a lecture, with the actual 'stargazing' limited to ten minutes at best. WTF? I noted my complaint on the survey form, but the important thing was the kids held it together for the hour - heck, YaYa even raised her hand and answered a question about constellations.

One great moment tho': when the lights did go down and the stars come out, LuLu gasped and said "Daddy it's beautiful!"

When we got out of the planetarium it was dark, and I drove around looking for a place to eat at least near campus. We eventually settled on a kitchy hamburger joint that has a branch near us.

The kids were tired at this point and ornery, and this was *not* a pleasant meal.





But the food was good . . .



Until I picked up LuLu's last chicken nugget and tore a piece off for myself. It was raw inside. Not 'half-cooked'. RAW. Like, "I just killed and gutted the chicken two minutes ago raw." I of course brought it to the attention of the staff, who reimbursed me the cost of the nuggets and later brought an ice cream sundae out for us.

They were fawning over us, but I set the manager straight: barring Lulu getting sick, this was the last they'd hear from me, so long as the cook would be reprimanded and trained. He agreed and at one point got on his knees to ask forgiveness of my daughter, which was WAAAYYY over the top.

She never had so much as a tummy-ache, by the way.

That ended our night. It was a nice ride home (with the girls singing songs from summer camp) and then on to bed.

A very nice day indeed.

Our Trip to UWM pt. 2

After our walk through the woods we hit a section of campus where I took 80% of my classes. Journalism and History were predominantly taught in the beautiful red brick buildings on the northeast section of campus.



The girls appreciated them for the handicapped ramps - perfect for YaYa's heely's!





Ah, the memories when I stepped foot inside. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked.

"It smells like church," Lulu said, wrinkling her nose.



I showed them the huge lecture hall where took several entry level courses, marvelled at my ability to recall the location of each restroom, and was slightly perplexed at the difficulty I had in finding Holton G90, the room where I took what, seven or eight senior and graduate level courses. But find it we did.

From there, we headed across to the library, and the centerpiece of a kid's memories of the campus, the fountain.



I remember playing in the fountain when my Dad took me to UWM, and the girls love it just as much.





I wanted to get a picture of all of us, but with no one around I did the old Lisa/Dan trick. It ain't a perfect science. (and curse my flat hair. I knew I should have used volumizing mousse that morning!)











Catch that wicked scar on YaYa's arm? She's got a matching one that runs down the side of her chest, courtesy of a fall out of a tree this summer.

We then headed to the Union to grab something to eat, but the place was shut down nice and tight. You could get in, of course, but there wasn't a scrap of food to be found. However, it was good to see the pool hall (where I'd gone when skipping many a class) was still open.



to be continued . . .

Our trip to UWM - pt 1

I would say the most painful casualty of the layoff is not the everyday scramble to pay the bills, or the slooow and often complicated process of securing a good paying job (Sealed university transcripts please, couriered, not sent via post, and include a standard release form and two reference letters. And remember, we are closed on Monday's! Thank you!). No, Lisa might disagree but I say the situation I regret the most is the curbing of our traditional family activities, the things we feel to be important and hold dear.

For instance, I don't know how (or if) we'll be able to afford to keep the kids in dance class in the fall. A small matter, in the big picture, but again, something we hold dear. We've even sucked it up and asked the family for assistance on this (and note, it is the ONLY time such a call has gone out, whatever Lisa's AWOL brothers might mutter to themselves). It was met mainly with a deafening silence.

(But when they need assistance, my how our answering machine lights up!)

I digress.

One of the casualties of our - MY - failure to replace my former income was UWM's College for Kids program. YaYa had attended for three years, and LuLu for one, and I'm proud to say I participated in the same program in my youth.

Whatever they learn in the classroom is a bonus, but even if they come out without a single fact learned, I think it's incredibly valuable. It acclimates them to a university campus, to professors, and to a (faint shadow) of the expectations placed upon t students. It demystifies an often intimidating experience down the road. I'm the perfect example. I ALWAYS felt at home on campus, because I'd walked those same halls years before.

So I decided, as Grandpa's Day neared, to take the girls and spend the day on campus. I wanted to walk around and reacquaint them with the school, to have dinner on the grounds, and to finish the night with a visit to the planetarium.

Friday afternoon, we hit the road.

As we drove over the Hoan Bridge, with Lake Michigan to our right, we had a splendid view of the crystal blue water. What happened next is irritating to many people, but music to my ears. For me, one of the best parts of being a parent is wading through a barrage of questions, watching their reactions to sights and events, and answering, knowing that some small part of what you're saying is absorbed and becomes a part of who they become.

Look at all those sailboats Daddy!/Have you ever been on a sailboat? Was it fun?/ What's on the other side of the lake?/How long would it take to sail there?/ Could you, like, take a paddle boat across?/Have we ever been to Michigan?/What states have we been to?/ Have I been to more states then Lulu?/ How come YaYa's been to Minnesota and I haven't?/Why isn't there a lake on the other side of the bridge?/Are there sharks in the water?/ Why is the ocean salty?/ Why are all the people down there (Irish Fest)?/ Are Leprechauns real? (Cousin) Stacey says she's a leprechaun [No, she isn't. She's just short honey.]/ Are we Irish?/ What are we?/ I've been to Irish Fest haven't I?/Why are they stopping? You can't stop on the freeway, right Daddy?/How come sometimes the lines on the road are solid and sometimes they're dashes?

Our first stop on campus was Downer Woods, an 11 acre forested land on the north side of campus. It is/was home to a pile of logs and branches the kids believed was Eeyore's house, and it has become our custom to pay him a visit. I've written about this on several occasions in the past few years.

Anyhow, last year a storm, or rot, or just jag-off human knocked Eeyore's house down. At the center of this myth had been the sighting of a blue light inside the structure, 'proof' that it was inhabited. (I think it was a castoff of blue garland or glass, if memory serves.) Even with the house down, they were intent on looking for evidence Eeyore had visited.

(oh, YaYa claimed to be above it all, but was awfully eager for a skeptic).





We found the house still is disarray . .





But YaYa returned to "Pooh's house" and the sight of it, and something or another inside 'proving' it to be in use, saved the day.



At that point we usually reverse course and head back the way we came. But this year, with no infant or fuddy-duddy Mom around, we completed the circuit of the Woods acreage, something I'd never done before.



Every so often the kids would stop to look at something. YaYa at a spider she frightened her sister with; Lulu with some mushrooms growing on the side of a tree, complete with a big spider of its own.



Right outside the woods they both noticed the imprint of leaves in the concrete. "Fossils!" said YaYa, and they both made me stop and take a picture.



I note, with some alarm, that this post is already mammoth. I'll cut this off and call it "part one", and see you on the flip side.

Jim Doyle Won't Seek Re-election

Big news out of Madison: according to published reports, WI Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has decided against a 2010 bid for re-election.

Hallelujah.

It's long been suspected that Doyle, a very loyal and left of center Democrat, would be granted a job in the Obama administration, and maybe that was the impetus for the move. Or it could be the knowledge that '10 was bound to be a nasty and difficult campaign. Taxes have been rising while the state deficit has grown to nearly $7 billion, and there are several strong challengers waiting in the wings.

So 2010 looks to be a doozy of an election. Who'll win the office? Barbara Lawton? Scott Walker? Mark Neumann? Tom Barrett can't be considering another run at it, right? Or will a dark horse take the prize?

Wait and see.

Spent the day @ UWM with my two oldest girls. Great time. Supposed to have a rummage tomorrow, but it's been postponed.

Coraline 3D

Well, you know what? I wanted to post this *prior* to that brief post about our 3D party, but what the hey, here it is.

Coraline is a film based on a young adult novel by a favorite author of mine, Neil Gaiman. YaYa finished the book herself sometime last year, an impressive feat for someone her age. Frankly I doubted her, but sure enough, she could recite the plot details prior to seeing the film.

A stop-motion animated film shot in 3D, it tells the story of a young girl who moves with her family to a triplex in the country. Loved but largely ignored by her distracted parents, Coraline soon discovers a mirror universe behind a small door in her apartment.

In that seemingly perfect land her Mom and Dad exist as loving and attentive parents who dote on her every wish. One small problem: they have buttons in place of eyes.

Well, two small problems actually. They also want to keep Coraline forever - and they have her buttons ready and waiting.

I liked the film and was genuinely entertained, but there are some frightening aspects to this film. While they advance the plot and are integral to it, I think Gaiman has a bad habit of pushing the boundaries of violence and fear in children's literature.

Still, well worth seeing - but I would restrict most viewing to those ten and older.

3.0 out of 4

Les Paul Dead at 94

Waukesha's own Les Paul, the inventor of the electric guitar and music legend, has passed away. He was 94.

RIP Les - you made Wisconsin proud.

CNN is reporting Michael Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is a young adult novel set, as the title indicates, in a cemetery.

A young family is viciously murdered in their home by a mysterious figure known as Jack. During the attack the family's toddler wanders out of the house and down the road to a cemetery, where it quickly draws the attention and affection of a long deceased couple. They mask the boy's presence from the killer and adopt him as their own.

The boy, renamed Nobody Owens, grows up in the graveyard under the watchful eye of the numerous souls buried there. As he matures he longs for the world outside the gates, a world of flesh and blood, of living human beings - and a world where a murderer is still searching for the boy that escaped his wrath.

This is written as a young adult novel, and by most accounts fits the bill, but there is a good deal of violence for something aimed at 9-12 year olds. In particular the murder of the family, and the eventual confrontation between Nobody and his nemesis, come on a little strong in my opinion.

Even so, Gaiman is a wonderful, imaginative writer, and if you are comfortable with your child handling a few pages of blood, by all means pick up a copy.

2.90 out of 4

Smiley and his Cousin

Smiley and his cousin

Street Work

The city is marking up the street in front of my house - literally, directly in front of my house - and I went and asked what was going on. Turns out they're building a gas line from the landfill in Franklin, all the way down to Jones Island. (!) Based on soil samples from in front of my house, they may have to dig the street up to lay the pipe. Yikes!

On Empire, Hoth, and Horrorween

I just finished watching the last 45 minutes of The Empire Strikes Back, and it brought back a lot of memories. I was a huge Star Wars nut as a kid, and at six years old my Dad took me to see Empire. We got there early, and I peaked through a window on the theater door and saw R2D2 fix the hyperdrive on the 'Falcon.

After the movie, I was pretty shaken. Seeing Han, my favorite character, frozen in carbonite scared the beejeezus out of me, and I couldn't sleep under my normal SW blanket that night. I just couldn't stand looking at Han, and I remember looking up 'carbon' in the encyclopedia in the next few days to try to find out if he was in pain or not.

Add in the whole "I am your father" thing, which confused me (I asked my Dad if he thought Vader was lying) and it was a chaotic mess of a movie visit, but one I'll remember forever.

You know, I've long since ditched SW fandom. It's cool, but it's not the cat's meow it once was for me. Even so, Empire stands as a great movie in its own right, independent of the series as a whole. It is dark and full of pain, emotional and physical, and the good guys don't win - but there is hope, and friendship, and love. It's truly great.

[Plus Leia never looked better - yes, even in the golden bikini of Jedi - and the battle for Hoth ROCKED]

* * * *

In another bit of useless trivia, I have discarded a copy of Horrorween by Al Sarrantonio. Sarrantonio's got talent and a way with words, but when you're midway through a book and a character says (parprhrasing here) "Remember the genius robotic engineer who went insane after his son was murdered by the clown? He escaped from the hospital and is on the loose!" well, there's no going back.

'Twas a time I'd finish any book I'd started, but screw that. Life's too short to waste it wading through crud.

Update: Town Hall Meeting

Did any reader actually attend the town hall meeting? I couldn't, but I just caught a synopsis of the event on the news. Apparently Moore answered only "five or six" questions during the entire two hour session, and the crowd was described as largely pro-Moore. I expected that, given the restrictions on speech she imposed, but I was suprised at the large number of opposing viewpoints that managed to be heard. Things got heated, but not violent, and if you think it was some grand GOP plan that got emotions running, think again.

Quoting Moore, verbatim, from the telecast of the meeting:

"One of the things we['re] gonna do is we're gonna repeal THOSE TAX BREAKS for the wealthiest Americans [applause, cks notes] . . . Number TWO, we're gonna end the war in Iraq! [applause, cks notes again, then yells the following] Number THREE, we're gonna MAKE THOSE INSURANCE COMPANIES BRING SOMETHIN' TO THE TABLE BESIDES THEIR APPETITE [loud applause]."

Really?? This was not a campaign rally, and all that crap did was satisfy the faithful who were already in her corner and harden the opposition's belief that she's all slogans and nothing more. I think that instead, she might have spent a little more than the half-hour that she devoted to *actually* interacting with the people of the district.

Again, as expressly pointed out by the reporters, this is the one and only time Moore will meet with her constituents.

Sigh.

Town Hall Meeting Tonight

Egads, it galls me to promote anything connected to my Congresswoman, but she is hosting a town hall meeting about Obamacare tonight, in uh, four minutes actually. It runs until six, so you can still attend, but don't bother going with a question in mind: Moore, never the sharpest pencil in the pouch, is responding only to questions that were submitted in advance and pre-approved by her staff. Why, that sounds like a joyous, give and take expression of democracy to me!

Oh, and please, if you go: remember to bring a spare tire. Ok, ok - cheap shot. Deserved, but cheap.

On a serious note: this is the first and only town hall meeting she'll be holding. The local Republican Congressmen have scheduled multiple sessions; off the top of my head, Paul Ryan has more than a dozen on the table.



WHO: Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisc.
WHAT: Informational session on health care reform
WHEN: Tuesday, August 11, 2009, 4-6 p.m.., CST
WHERE: North Division High School, Milwaukee, WI

Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) will Tuesday hold an informational session to hear from her constituents on the proposed health care reform legislation that the House of Representatives will likely consider in September.

A representative from the University of Wisconsin is expected to be on hand to give a non-partisan, informational presentation on the bill’s specifics.

Congresswoman Moore will also answer questions that constituents have submitted online on health care reform. Those who plan to attend need to submit their questions online prior to the event.

EDIT: Formatting and text changes were rejected by Blogger at the time of publication, citing code errors that were over my head. I posted as-is given the time sensitive issue. Coming back now, a few hours later, I went with the original (intended) post.

Freaky

Every few minutes I've heard this guttural sound coming from the other room. Kind of freaky in a quiet house, actually. Then I got it: it's Smiley's crickets. They aren't quite chirping so much as . . . well, making unique disgusting noises.

Watchmen - the movie

The night before he left for Cape Cod, my nephew and I sat down to watch a movie. After a few minutes Lisa called out from the other room.

"That music is cool," she said. "What are you watching?"

"Watchmen," I said.

"What's it about?"

"Basically, superheroes are illegal, but when one of them is murdered a group of retired heroes gets back together to solve the crime."

There was silence for a moment.

"So, it's a violent The Incredibles?"

And that, Dear Reader, is the problem. Watchmen was innovative in the '80's, and a thousand stories owe a debt to the monumental graphic novel. But the market is so saturated with knock-offs that the original seems almost mundane. It's something I first wrote about in my review of the comic itself.

The movie itself is a visual treat, and for the most part follows the novel blow-for-blow. Aside from the stilted acting of Malin Akerman, I thought it was very enjoyable, and Rorschach's scene in the prison cafeteria was worth the price of the rental all by its lonesome.

The bad? The graphic novel is a long read, as such things go, and the movie seems to drag as it sticks close to the source material. Then they inexplicably change the nature of the threat in the closing minutes, altering the logic (and effectiveness) of the whole exercise.*

Still, if you can push past the feeling that you've seen it all before, it's worth a look.

2.8 out of 4.


* SPOILER: if it isn't an 'outside' threat that destroys the cities, what's the point? I mean, Dr. Manhattan is still a (rogue) U.S. employee right? If he blows up Tehran, I'm thinking the Iranians still have a legitimate grievance against America, no? So what did it all accomplish? Nada, not in the 'real' world.

Midnight Birthday Wishes

These pics were taken at the stroke of midnight on the 7th, as I stepped into Ginger's room to wish her a Happy Birthday.

Best. Movie. Line. Ever

From the movie Ghost Breakers, here's a dandy of a quip from Bob Hope. And yes, it's Snopes verified.



h/t to Opinionated Lady

Hope: "You live here?"

Man: "Yes."

Hope: "Then maybe you know what a zombie is."

Man: "When a person dies and is buried, it seems there are certain voodoo priests who . . .who have the power to bring him back to life."

Woman: "How horrible!"

Man: "It's worse than horrible because a zombie has no will of their own. You see them sometimes walking around blindly with dead eyes, following orders, not knowing what they do, not caring."

Hope: "You mean like Democrats?"

Make that three cats (2 permanent), a turtle, a Beta, a goldfish, two minnows, a frog, and a dozen crickets

LuLu's fish died, a mere 12 hours after its 'warranty' expired. Shoddy workmanship Darwin, shoddy workmanship. God woulda done better.

[note: she'd named it "Cheetah" after the dark pattern on its back. She didn't pronounce it 'cheetah' however. It was more like "Cheetahhhhh!" in kind of a "jazz hands" voice.

Anyhow, as I did with YaYa's goldfish, I fed him to our turtle (although unlike with YaYa, I fudged and said I gave him a noble burial). This morning I took the kids to the pet store and wasted another $15.

We picked up a goldfish and a cheap plastic plant for Lu, and twelve feeder minnows and two dozen crickets for the turtle (twelve large roach-like monsters, and twelve little ones). In the end I wound up adding two of the minnows to LuLu's goldfish bowl, and to satisfy a suddenly insect-happy Smiley, gifted him the twelve little crickets.

As for the turtle, these are rare treats for he-who-normally-survives-on-turtle-pellets. He also was treated to a sunbath in the great outdoors. In a moment I'll take him in, as it's a bloomin' oven outside today.

I did want to mention an unrelated but odd thing that happened this past week. While driving home from work Thursday a woman cut in front of me. I hit the brakes and almost, but not quite, came to a stop. When I resumed driving I felt around for the gas pedal and couldn't find it. I actually had to glide to a stop on the side of the road, get out, and take a look.

The pedal had actually disconnected and was laying flat on the floor.

In such situations a mechanic friend is a Godsend, and I am blessed to have one who will ride to the rescue at any time of day. Roy came out w/in a half hour. "What the F did you do? I've never seen this before," he said. "If I were you, I'd start praying."

"Dude, you fix it and I'll drop and say a rosary right here."

Five minutes later, I was on the road. Apparently the throttle cable (?) attached to the gas pedal became entangled with the brake and disconnected after the abrupt stop. ???

"Is it going to happen again?" I asked after I damn near kissed the guy.

"I've never seen it before," he said. "So I'm thinking it's a once in a lifetime thing."

Let's hope so.

I mean this with 100% sincerity: if you want to put a smile on my face and make me instantly happier, no matter the situation, just show me an Alex Rodriguez home run.

Busy day today. My daughter's 2nd birthday party, followed by a family BBQ and then a bit of a mess after that. All in all, a great day.

Family Movie Night . . . in 3D!

Wow. A busy, busy day today, one almost solely devoted to family. I hope to post about it soon, but in the meantime . .

A couple weeks back Lisa surprised the kids by buying a copy of Coraline on DVD; the 2D version on one side of the disc, 3D on the other. If you remember I took YaYa to see it on the 21st of March. Based on a book by Neil Gaiman, it's a good movie, if a trifle slow. It's certainly impressive to the eye, especially in the 3D version.

We made a movie night of it, complete with popcorn, pizza, salad and the mandatory 3D glasses. Note the Ronald McDonald teeny-Beanie Baby near Smiley. The kids are going nuts for those Happy Meal toys right now.

Match Game: No Blonde Jokes Please (even if warranted)

In honor of Ginger's birthday, here's a Match Game contestant whose real name is Ginger - and her answers are so bad she dang near stops the show in its tracks. What's scary is that the second half of the clip is her in the bonus round, meaning she won her game. Who the heck was her opponent?

Happy 2nd Birthday Ginger!

Today is the 2nd, joyous birthday of the one and only Feral Child, aka Lump aka Baby, better known online as Ginger Slap.



May she enjoy this day, and another hundred birthdays in the years to come!